Meter accuracy?

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linzanne325 wrote:

I am getting frustrated here. I have been pretty consistently under 140 after 1 hour (93-110s). So today i got a post-lunch 140 and didn't believe it. So i retested a few minutes later due to frustration and got a 113. I just got my meter last Friday, so may need to ask my doctor about this. Also, when i did my 3 hour test, i asked the Nurse to use a portable meter so i would know my numbers right away. The one test i thought i passed with flying colors was a 165 on the portable reader, but 180 in the lab. I understand that there is some variability with the machines, but I am losing confidence in the reliability of all of this testing. Especially if I am worried for getting a 95 or 97 fasting number...is this a true reading?

I have taken my blood on the same finger three times in a row and got a different reading each time. I used the formula to test the meter and it showed it was reading things fine. Ive wondered about the true accuracy of the testing too.

What meter do you have? I had this exact same problem, mine dropped 25 pt literally within seconds. I called the company about it, they said they are allowed a 20-30 pt variance and had me get the testing solution. I did and it said the machine was working fine. I know, I think it is crazy 20-30 pt is huge!

The FDA (or whoever regulates these devices...) allows a GIANT range of "accuracy" as acceptable. It's super frustrating when a doctor is making decisions about whether to medicate you or induce labor early based on a number that may be 20% off. It's not right at all, especially when you consider how much the test strips cost.

Thanks for all the responses. I have a One Touch Verio. I have just been making sure my hands are clean and very dry. All we can do at this point, just a little disappointing that 20% is a huge discrepancy and I am hoping the doctor doesn't decide to put any of us on meds if we are a few points over the recommended range.

If you read the instructions on your meter it will give you the standard deviation. I have a one touch ultra 2, and the deviation is +\- 7 points. Other meters may have a wider or narrower range, and this only means that 95% of the readings will be in this range of true. So every 100 readings you would expect 5 readings to be more than +\- 7 from the true value on my meter.

Got a 138 after lunch which is high for me for what I ate (been 95-120 with same meal), but decided not to re-test since it was just barely under my 140 cutoff =P. At $1 per strip I figured I won't waste it just to prove a point here.

I have the OneTouch Verio also! Even though my A1c was only 5.4 (four months pregnant) they said my fasting numbers were too high. The highest number was 103. They put me on insulin at night. The nurse told me to start at 22units bcz of my weight she said anything lower wouldn't make a dent in my numbers. I started at 8 units. The doctor said I seem to be very sensitive to it bcz it worked! Now the nurse overseeing my numbers sent a message asking me to get another A1c test. I'm 7 months pregnant now. It's all been very frustrating.